Red Hat announced the availability of Red Hat Linux 9. Drawing from the work of the open source community, Red Hat Linux 9 allows users to take advantage of the newest open source technology first. With an improved graphical installation, new usability enhancements and end-user applications, Red Hat Linux 9 is designed for students, home computing and technology enthusiasts.
"Red Hat's community-based distribution became an option for home computing with the introduction of the Bluecurve graphical interface in 2002. In Red Hat Linux 9, we've refined the installation and interface, adding new tools and applications for end users," said Brian Stevens, vice president of Operating Systems Development at Red Hat. "The result is an open source desktop operating system that is flexible and simple to use for mainstream technology enthusiasts."
Red Hat Linux features Bluecurve, an easy-to-navigate interface with intuitively organized menus. Bluecurve has been upgraded in Red Hat Linux 9 and now extends to more areas of the operating system, including the menu and layout of the desktop. Red Hat Linux 9 features include:
- First introduction of new threading technology: NPTL (Native POSIX Thread Library)
- OpenOffice.org office suite for creation of documents, spreadsheets and presentations.
- Mozilla Web browser , email client, address book, HL composer and authoring tool
- Ximian Evolution email client, calendar and contact manager
- CUPS for drag-and-drop printing capabilities
- Upgraded core components: Linux kernel 2.4.20, GCC 3.2.1, GNU libc 2.3 (with NPTL), web server powered by Apache 2.0